While the rest of the region looks back on 2005 as a year of natural
disasters, Nepal's disasters were entirely manmade. The Indian Ocean tsunami and
the Kashmir earthquake devastated Asia but Nepal was thrown into turmoil within
a month of the last new year with the royal takeover on 1 February. The rest of
2005 was a political see saw as the political parties protested on the streets,
the media struggled against efforts to control it, the Maoists launched their
bloodiest attacks ever and then announced a truce for Dasain that has lasted
till this week. Front pages of the Nepali Times in the past year summarise the
tumultuous year.
Our new year resolution: to live in less interesting
times.
